Popular Tour Itineraries Featuring Budapest

Standard shop opening hours Monday to Friday are 10:00-18:00 and Saturday 10:00-13:00. Department stores usually open at 10:00, while grocery store, bakeries and supermarkets are open 07:00-20:00. Many shops open until 20:00 or 21:00 on Thursdays. Shops are closed on Sundays, except shopping malls. Museums are generally open from 10:00 to 18:00, and usually close on Mondays. Naturally, synagogues are closed Saturdays.

Almost everything is within walking distance in Budapest, but if you want to spend less time on foot and more time seeing the sights, public transport is quick and inexpensive.

Only some bus drivers sell tickets, but they do not make change and tickets purchased on the bus are more expensive. If you are using single tickets do not forget to validate your ticket when you get on the vehicle. On buses and trams the ticket is validated by a punch or electronic machine on board. Punch your ticket before you get down to the platform when using the metro. If you're going to be using public transport a lot (more than 5 journeys a day) whilst you are in Budapest we recommend a 24 or 72 hour travelcard. If you're only going to make a couple of journeys a day, then you can save a little compared to the cost of single tickets by buying a book of 10 tickets.

The Metro, day Buses and Trams run 4.20am-midnight
Night bus services - on the Grand Boulevard N.906. first 12.35AM last 4.35AM

Taxis are an option, though much more expensive than public transport, with the flag fall alone costing as much as a single journey by public transport.

Budapest is definitely a safe city with the proviso that as with any other big city there are some standard precautions you should take, such as being watchful of your wallet or purse, don't flash thick wads of banknotes or expensive jewelry and don't leave your bag or bike unguarded, don't walk alone late at night in unlit deserted streets, don't withdraw cash from ATMs in dark deserted places, don't accept drugs or unsolicited sexual approaches, don't trust people that you instinctively feel fishy, unreliable, way too strange.

Parking in Budapest is not easy to come by. The larger hotels often have underground parking facilities attached, though you can expect to pay a high price for the convenience (for example, the Four Seasons charges 9800 HUF ($44) per night for parking). For around 5000 HUF a day ($22) you can use a multi-storey car park. On street parking is strictly policed. There are paid parking bays and you must buy a ticket for the entire time the car is to be parked there, and there are often limits on how long you can leave a car there for. For more information and a list of multi-storey car parks, see this link. Before deciding to take a car to Budapest consider the various other ways you can get there (bus, train, plane, private transfer) and the fact that the public transport in the city is inexpensive and reliable.